


Bare With Me

by Freedom_Shamrock



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Nudity, Reveal, ladrien, nakedrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-11-14 21:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11216811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedom_Shamrock/pseuds/Freedom_Shamrock
Summary: Adrien just wants a shower.  An akuma has other plans, and this time, Ladybug won't let him take the time to get dressed.





	1. Nakedrien

**Author's Note:**

> I blame [Seasonofthegeek](http://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek) for helping me realize that there really isn't nearly enough Nakedrien.

Adrien yanked off his clothes and staggered into the shower.   Summer break was a huge misnomer, at least for the seventeen-year-old son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste.  Sure he was out of school, but he still had fencing, Chinese, and piano lessons.  He'd had back-to-back photoshoots, and the second one was for fall designs.  It ran two hours over on a record-breaking hot day.  So of course it was outside.  His makeup had felt like gritty slime, melting under the lights, and he was relatively certain the whole shoot would have to be redone.  He never wanted to see that itchy soggy suit coat again.

It took a few minutes before the cool water sluicing over him even registered.  He was just starting to feel human again when his bathroom door opened with a bang.

"Adrien?" a familiar feminine voice called, but it felt weirdly out of context, and he couldn't identify it.  "Adrien Agreste, are you in here?"  She sounded concerned.

"Uuh, yeah," he called back.  "If you want to take a seat in my living room I'll be out in a minute."

"I'm sorry, but there's no time for that."  He heard a cupboard open, followed by some rummaging.

He finished rinsing the shampoo out of his hair and struggled to see through his shower door.  She was wearing red and black, a combination his Lady had made hugely fashionable in Paris these days.  He was not at all expecting the door to be yanked open, and he stared, frozen as he met Ladybug's beautiful blue eyes.

"Uuuh…"  His brain had flown completely off the rails to sink in a nearby swamp.  In all the circumstances he ever imagined being naked with Ladybug, this one had never, **ever** occurred to him.

Despite the fact that she'd been the one to burst into his bathroom, she seemed equally paralyzed, and she was clearly trying to keep her eyes on his face.  After a moment, she held out her hand.  "Towel?" she asked, offering him one she must have dug out from the cupboard.

Adrien stared at her a few moments before enough synapses fired to reach for the towel.  He'd grown up being told he was handsome, that his physique was fantastic.  While she'd seen it plenty of times clothed in a black cat suit, it hadn't impressed her.  Perhaps the real thing sans suit would have more impact?  And it wasn't like he was used to conventions of modesty or privacy.

"Uhm… is there a reason you're here, Ladybug?" he asked, starting with his hair.

Her eyes went a little wider when she realized he wasn't covering up.  "Oh, yeah, there's an akuma."  She gave herself a little shake.  "I need to get you somewhere safe."

"Can I put some clothes on first?" he asked.

She shook her head.  "No time, I'm afraid.  Sorry."

He shrugged.  "I could grab a robe…"

She cut him off.  "Nope.  No time."  She reached out and plucked the towel out of his fingers and wrapped it round his waist, mostly without looking.  His skin burned as her suit covered fingers brushed against his belly to tuck in the end of the towel.  "Just come with me."  Then she grabbed his hand and led him to the window she'd used as an entrance.  "Do you have a friend's place you can stay at for a bit while Chat Noir and I take care of this?"

He thought a moment.  Nino and Alya were both out of town with their respective families.  "Was Chloe involved?" he asked.

Ladybug rolled her eyes.

He grinned.  "Okay.  No Chloe then…"  He nodded decisively.  "Do you know who Marinette is?" he asked.  "She's a classmate of mine, and she worked with Chat Noir on the Evilustrator akuma."  Though his petite friend had a tendency to get randomly blushy around him, the stammering had vanished, and she was now one of his favorite people.

"Do you know if she's home?" Ladybug asked, sounding unsure.

Adrien shrugged.  "She has this really nice little rooftop patio.  I can hang out there, even if she's not around.  And if she is around, I know she won't make too big of a deal about me showing up in just a towel."

" **I** wouldn't be so sure of that," Ladybug muttered.

"What?" he asked.

She gave him a level glare.  "You're incredibly attractive.  You know that, right?"

"I **am** a model."  He grinned.  "Wait.  I thought you weren't looking."  When she turned away, he eagerly followed.  "Oh goodness, my L… dear bug.  Are you blushing."

She let out a huff.  "I was **trying** to be respectful of your privacy and the fact that I was violating it."

"But you peeked."  The flushed and flustered look was so gorgeous on her.  "Well, I know there's no time now, but you're welcome to come back anytime for a proper look."  Holy crap.  Had those words really come out of his mouth?  He felt Plagg dart up the inside of the towel, along the outside of his leg, and coming to rest at his hip.

"I'll… uh… keep that in mind," she said, her voice breathy and soft.  There was a loud bang from outside, and they both jumped.  "Hang onto your towel Adrien," she cautioned before scooping him up in her arms and carrying him out the window.


	2. Assgreste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Mari can't get over that assgreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [Seasonofthegeek](http://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek) for starting me down this path.  
> Additional thanks to [runyoubadwolf](http://archiveofourown.org/users/runyoubadwolf/pseuds/runyoubadwolf) for the cookie idea and to [IChatNotDealWithThis](http://archiveofourown.org/users/IChatNotDealWithThis/pseuds/IChatNotDealWithThis) for the inadvertent skylight suggestion.

"Pound it!" Ladybug tapped her fist to Chat's.  "I'll catch you later, Chaton.  There's a civilian I left in a somewhat compromising position on a friend's rooftop, and I should go rescue him before the media spots him."

He grinned at her, looking like he knew a secret.  "Is that so, My Lady?"  His expression changed slightly.  "Did you leave him on his friend's roof or your friend's roof?"

"Yes?  Wait… you're confusing me," she huffed, anxious about dealing with towel-clad Adrien when there wasn't an akuma to focus on.  She'd been doing so well around him lately, but this… it really bumped her back a few paces.

"What is it about this guy that has you so twitterpated, Bug?" he asked, intently curious.

She flinched and looked away.  She knew Chat was fond of her, and she'd never hurt him if it could be avoided.

"Oh!" he said quickly.  "You  **like** him."  He giggled, sounding delighted.

She spun to him, one finger extended.  "No!  You do  **not** get to do this right now," she snapped.  "I had to barge into Adrien Agreste's bathroom, yank him out of the shower, and haul him, in nothing more than a towel, mind you, to a friend's house.  I  **so** can not deal with your teasing right now."

He bit his lip, but continued to grin.  "Naked model, huh.  On a scale of one to ten…"

"Eleven," she blurted.  Groaning, she looked away.  Her earrings beeped.  "Dammit."

"You'd better recharge before you go rescuing hot under-dressed models," Chat said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.  "Unless you want to do a little revealing of your own."

"Omigod Chat!"  She jumped a few inches away.  "That's it.  I'm leaving.  I'll see you tomorrow on patrol.  And I don't want to talk about this again.  Ever."  She threw her yo-yo toward a building that would start her on the route home.  If she pushed it, she might get to the bakery.  But Chat was right, she was going to need to recharge.

Ladybug set down lightly in an alley well out of view of her balcony.  After verifying it was clear, she dropped her transformation and headed for the back door.  Patting her pockets, she cringed.  No key.  Again.  "Tikki, can you unlock the door?"

Her kwami was exhausted, but she obligingly phased through the door, flipping the lock on her way.  The bakery was completely empty of baked goods.  Her parents must have already taken the day's remainders to the domestic violence shelter.  The kitchen was sweet free as well.  Fortunately, she kept a rotating stash of end of day cookies, for this sort of occasion.  Unfortunately it was up in her room.  

She crept up the stairs, settling on the top stair.  Tikki could zip in for the cookies, since she could actually see in the dark.  The bedroom windows were all open, and apparently Adrien hadn't felt comfortable letting himself into her room through the unlocked skylight.  There was a quiet creek overhead and she glanced toward the skylight, immediately clapping her hand over her mouth to contain the noises that wanted to escape.

Adrien was apparently pacing as he awaited his rescue.  This brought him right beside the skylight where he turned, god was he ever  **not** modeling, causing his plush cream towel to flare out around his thighs.  She'd just been treated to a rather spectacular view of the coveted Agreste ass.   True, the twinkle lights didn't cast enough light to really highlight his assets, and everything beyond his pale perfect buttcheeks was shrowded in shadow.

Pulling her eyes away, she let out a little whimper.  She was a bad person and a terrible friend.  How would she feel if Adrien was gawking at her naked?  Okay.  Poor parallel, because she'd love that.  Especially if he was also naked.  Oh god.  She slithered down the stairs, knowing Tikki would catch up with her.  She didn't trust herself, and even though he'd offered her an unrushed viewing, he'd been talking to Ladybug the superhero, not his good friend Marinette.  He'd probably been joking.  Or flirting.  Oh god.  What if he'd been flirting with her?

Tikki appeared in front of Marinette's face.  "Ready to go rescue Adrien?" she asked.  "Or do you want to go back up and watch him pace a bit?"

"You're  **not** helping," Marinette whispered harshly.

Tikki giggled.  "I wasn't trying to help.  At least not in the way you were hoping."

"Tikki," she groaned.

"You should totally take him up on that offer, Marinette," the little red kwami suggested.  "From what I could see, Adrien's glorious, by human standards, of course."

Marinette snatched Tikki out of the air and bolted for the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one went longer than intended for reasons (mostly the skylight, really), so I figure I have two more nakedrien stories to complete this... whatever it is.


	3. Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug is the highlight of Adrien's day, even if involved her bursting into his shower and hauling him in nothing but a towel to safety. Can he get her to linger a bit when she returns him home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe I promised to include choking hazard warnings on Nakedrien stories, so here's your warning. If you think naked Adrien interacting with Ladybug might be funny, set down your food and beverages. Thank you, and please enjoy our feature presentation.

Adrien couldn't decide if he should be pacing or casually drape himself over Marinette's lawn chair.  Past experience indicated that both had the potential to appeal visually, but what would Ladybug prefer?

He was still pacing when the distinctive zip of her yo-yo announced her arrival.  He looked up just as her feet touched down, and he made a point to use the wide-eyed expression his photographers wanted when they were aiming for a sweet and innocent look.

He smiled, delighted to see her cheeks darken slightly.  "Welcome back," he said,  throwing her a little finger wave.  "Everything go all right?"

Ladybug nodded.  "Yep.  Chat and I got it all taken care of. It's safe to bring you home."

"Great.  Uhm… so why was  **I** in particular danger?"  Having helped fight the Re-Modeler, he knew.  But Adrien Agreste had been stranded with no cell phone, radio access, or clothes, and had no way to know what was going on.  "I didn't cause the akuma, did I?"  He aimed for a horrified reaction, because, seriously, if he had caused it, he'd feel terrible.

"No, no, no."  Her hand settled on his shoulder, as she rushed to soothe him.  Damn she was sweet.  "It wasn't your fault the photographer and designer preferred you."

Actually, it was totally his father's fault.  The man was a colossal dick, and that was to people he liked.  "Oh.  Was it Johann, then?"  He sighed.  "I would've been more than happy to give up today's shitty shoot for him."

"He probably would have been fine if he hadn't run into Chloe while he was getting over his frustration," Ladybug pointed out.

"Ugh."  His reaction didn't have to be feigned at all.  "That girl needs to take akuma prevention sensitivity training."

Ladybug giggled.  "So are you ready to go home?  I'm sure your… family is concerned about you."

He snorted.  "My handlers, you mean."  Her hesitation had suggested she knew more about his home life than the average Parisian.  He didn't really want her to drop him off and head on her way.  Not yet.  "Nathalie is probably completely freaked out."

"Ah!" Ladybug said in bright discovery.  She held out her yo-yo and opened it in communicator mode.  "I can call her and explain.  Do you think that would help?"

Adrien nodded eagerly.  It would certainly minimize the urgency of the situation.  When she offered the device to him to dial, he pretended to misunderstand and just reached over her to enter the number.

"Hello, this is Nathalie Sa…"  His father's assistant hesitated.  She'd answered in video phone.  "Ladybug.  I see you have located Adrien.  His father will be most grateful."

"It's no problem at all," Ladybug said, her professional hero mode in full force.  "As soon as I realized the Re-Modeler was targeting him, I moved Adrien to a secure location.  I'm sorry.  I didn't even give him time to grab his phone."

"I understand."  Nathalie turned her focus to him.  "Adrien… are you naked?"

Adrien shook his head quickly.  "No.  But I'm less dressed than I'd normally be out in public.  Good thing it's dark out."

It was subtle, but he could see the amusement in Nathalie's face.  "I won't tell your father if you don't, and if you can manage to avoid being caught by any photographers."

"Thanks Nathalie."

"I'll bring him home right now Ms. Sancoeur," Ladybug promised.  "He was concerned that you'd be worried, so I wanted to contact you first."

"Do I have anything before 10:30 tomorrow morning?" Adrien asked.

She looked down at something, probably her tablet.  "There is nothing on your schedule until noon."

"Great," Adrien said, happily.  He had no reason to push Ladybug out after she brought him home, and she had a fresh transformation.  "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Nathalie gave him that rare smile of hers.  "I'll inform your father that you're safe.  Don't stay up too late."

The screen went dark and Ladybug closed it.  "All right.  Ready for another ride?"

He grinned.  He'd love a ride other than the one she was offering.  "Anytime you want, my L- lovely bug."  Dammit.  Channeling his inner Chat Noir was risky.

She scooped him up again and swung them back in the direction of his father's mansion.  Once she'd safely landed back in his room, he could see the pink in her cheeks again.  She was out of her element, and there was no previously established protocol for hero behavior in this situation, and he loved seeing her a little out of her element.

"Thanks for going out of your way to protect me," he said, wanting her to feel comfortable with him.  At least enough so that she wouldn't leave too soon.

She beamed at him, back on familiar ground.  "All in a day's work."

"It was the best part of my day, to be honest."  Granted, any time in her company was the best part of his day, but this had been extra nice.

"Oh."  She smiled, looking bashful.  Though he was sure he'd never seen his Lady look like that, it was incredibly familiar.

He shrugged.  "I don't have a lot of terrific days, and that's just how life works.  But today was phenomenally bad."

She took one of his hands between both of hers.  "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm glad I was somehow able to make it better."  She shook her head.  "I think it says a lot about your life that being targeted by an akuma was the bright point in your day."

He laughed.  "I guess."  He reached back and rubbed the back of his head nervously.  "Umm, would you, uh want to hang out a bit?"  Oh god.  He'd done it.  He'd asked her to stay.  Did he sound too desperate?  When she stared at him, seemingly unable to respond, he tried to fix it.  "Uh.  Sorry.  That was probably weird.  I just thought--"

"Yes!" she blurted out, cutting him off.  Her face went nearly as red as her suit as she started to fidget.  It was another oddly familiar behavior.  "Uh… to the hanging out.  Not the weird part.  It's not weird."  She closed her mouth and her eyes and took a deep breath, then faced him calmly.  "I'd love to hang out."

Relieved, he beamed at her.  "Great.  So… "  He looked around his room, trying to remember all the things he'd learned his Lady enjoyed.  But his brain wasn't braining.  Stupid brain.  "Uhm.  We could… watch a movie or play video games."  He gestured to his personal arcade.  "I think I'm ziplined out, but… uh…"

Once again, his Lady saved him.  "I love video games."  Her gaze flicked over him.  "Uhm… not to be one more person in your life telling you what to do, but, are you going to put on clothes?"  She pointed to his towel.

Yes.  An opportunity.  He could use this.  "Ugh," he groaned.  "My life revolves around clothes.  Scratchy clothes.  Sweaty clothes.  Holy-crap-I-can't-breathe-in-this clothes."  He grabbed his face with both hands and dragged down.  "I'm not sure I can possibly clothes right now, my… Ladybug," he whined.

Her giggles reassured him.  "Have I just discovered Adrien Agreste's deepest darkest secret?" she asked, tapping her lips with one finger.  "You're a naturalist at heart."

"Sssh!"  He shushed her, pretending to be panicked.  "Not so loud.  Can you imagine what that would do to my father?  His career?  I mean, Ladybug, this is serious.  You.  Can't.  Tell.  Anyone."  He planted his hands on his towel clad hips.

She patted his cheek, and he was pretty sure he stopped breathing.  "Your secret is safe with me."  She took a small step back, pink in her cheeks again.  "While your body is nothing to be ashamed of, I mean, seriously, it's not… but I'm not used to hanging out with naked boys.  At all.  So maybe you could find the least clothing-like item you have so I don't get all distracted and lose every game we play?"

He thought for a moment, running through his usual options for when he had to wear clothes but didn't want to.  Plagg gave his thigh a light scratch.  "Oh!  Uh… I might have something that'll work.  Just… gimmie a minute."  He headed for his huge walk-in closet.  "Have a seat, make yourself comfortable."  He waved vaguely to the couch before ducking into the closet.

He tugged the knot on the towel, dropping it on the floor.  "I'm sorry, Plagg," he whispered.  "You're hungry, I know."

The miraculous black cat hovered in front of Adrien's eyes.  "Naah.  I'm good.  I'll just phase into the mini-fridge for a snack."

"Oh… what did you need?"  This was a surprise.

Plagg smirked in a decidedly not cat like way.  "You want to get the girl, and it's obvious that showing some skin is working wonders for you.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should redesign the suit…"  He shook his tiny head.  "Naah.  Don't want to damage your fragile skin.  Anyway, you have the perfect thing to wear in this situation."

"I do?"

Plagg darted out and returned with a black utility kilt.  "Trust me on this, kid.  Ladies dig a man in a kilt.  And as a bonus, it's traditional to go commando."

Adrien's face hurt from the size of his smile.  "I love you Plagg.  You're the best."  He'd forgotten all about the kilt, which he'd bought online to go with a costume that he never ended up getting to wear.  It had been just a smidge loose three months ago, but now it fit perfectly.  He idly wondered what would happen if he started wearing it around town or to school.  

 He popped out of his closet, to find Ladybug going through his high scores on the DDR.  Yes.  He could make that work to his advantage, too.

"Hey Ladybug, is this all right?"  He struck a simple pose, did a three point catwalk turn, and paused facing her.  Had he ever seen her eyes so round?  "Is that a yes?"  He looked down at the kilt, hanging just above his knee.

She let out an odd wheezing squeal, sounding a bit like a teakettle, and when he looked back up, she was on her knees, still gawking at him.

"Is it that bad?"  He was pretty sure that wasn't the reason, well, he hoped that wasn't the reason.

She shook her head vigorously, apparently unable to look away.  "Of course, only  **you** could go from towel to clothes and have the clothes be sexier.  What the hell?"

He barked out a laugh.  Plagg was going to get so much camembert.  "Oh, well if that's all…"  He walked across the room to her.  "I wasn't sure if it looked horrible or something."

She held up one finger.  "I think it's physically impossible for you to look horrible in anything.  Hell, I'll bring you a burlap sack to wear and I bet it would be hot."

He felt his lips twitch.  "Scratchy, too,." he added, covering his mouth at her mock scowl.

"You're extremely attractive, and I'm certain you know that."  The way she looked at him felt like she was reading his mind.  "You're a  **supermodel** , for god's sake."

"Wait… you're familiar with my work.  Are you a fan?" he asked eagerly.

She rolled her eyes.  "I live in Paris, of  **course** I'm familiar with your work."  She sighed.  "And yes.  I'm a fan.  Have been for years.  I'm an amateur designer myself, actually, and I've grown up watching you model."

"That makes me  **so** happy."  He beamed at her.  

"Yeah, well if I have a heart attack, it'll be because of you and that goddamn kilt."  She let out a huff and forced herself back to her feet.  "I have to be up at six, so we should get started if you want to play."  She looked mortified, and hastily added.  "Uh, video games."

Teasing would be too Chat Noir.  It also hadn't worked, and he didn't want to chase her away.  "So, I saw you eyeing up the DDR, want to start there?"

She shrugged.  "I'll warn you it's not my strongest game, but I've never played as Ladybug, so maybe that'll help.  I expect you'll kick my ass though."

"Ladies first."  He caught himself mid nod, before he could go into a full bow and moved to stand near the scoreboard in case she needed any help navigating the system.  She pulled up one of the songs that came with the most recent upgrade, toggling through the options relatively quickly.

The music started and she was off to a good start.  The difficulty wasn't terribly high, but she was decent.  While he'd seen her do all sorts of random regular person things during their patrols, it was surreal to see Ladybug on his DDR.  

"You're excellent!" he said as her score came up.  "From the way you were talking, I thought you'd be tripping off the pads."

She laughed, such a lovely joyful sound.  "The suit helps.  Regular me is not nearly this good.  Though I haven't fallen off in a while."

He picked his current favorite song, not coming anywhere near his high score because he was still pretty tired after the day.  His score was higher, but he didn't point it out.  "Do you do freestyle?" he asked gesturing for her to take over.

She waved one hand.  "A little, but again, not great."

"I think freestyle's a lot easier, especially if it's hard for you to get your feet to move where the programmed dances tell you to."  He'd been working with Marinette on freestyle mode, because she just had a tough time with her foot-eye coordination.  "I have a friend who has a lot of trouble with the regular mode, but she's pretty amazing in freestyle."  He shrugged.  "Plus it's more fun than rapid foot tapping.  More like actual dancing."

Ladybug smiled indulgently at him.  "Okay.  One freestyle for each of us.  Then I probably need to head out."

When her chosen song started, he nodded.  "Marinette likes this one, too."

She winked at him.  "Great minds think alike."  Her freestyle was fantastic, much more relaxed than the stiffer action of her previous turn.  She favored a lot of the same moves as his classmate.  Her whole body was part of the dance, and she was smiling.  God she was gorgeous when she was having fun.  She bounced happily off the pad and waved him toward it.  "Your turn, Mr. Dreamy Model."

"Do I have an official Ladybug-granted nickname?"  He clasped his hands together.

She laughed.  "Yes.  Henceforth you shall be known as Mr. Dreamy Model, though since I know you so well from our little visit, I get to call you Dreamy."

"Yes!"  He hopped onto the pad and picked out the song "Don't Bother Me."  He'd been working out a fun routine with it, though he'd skip the hand and head stand to avoid overtly mooning or flashing his guest.  As he spun and kicked, he realized that he liked the way the kilt flared and swished around his legs.  Unfortunately it distracted him enough that he finished out his routine on autopilot, executing a flip that landed his feet on the farthest right sensors.  He felt the fabric of the kilt pull away from his legs and flip before it eventually dropped back down.  

Oh shit.  

Mortified, he glanced up and saw that Ladybug appeared to be frozen, her face an odd combination of delight and surprise.  He scrambled to his feet and reached on hand out to touch her shoulder.  "Ladybug?  I'm sorry.  That was rude.  I… kinda got caught up in the game."

"Ah!"  She sounded surprised, and strangely out of breath.  "Very rice noutine."  She looked up at him, with a very familiar deer-in-headlights expression.  "Must go.  No time to gawk… er talk.  I'll just show myself out."  She mechanically headed for the same window they'd used earlier.

Had he broken her?  "I'm glad you stayed for a bit," he said, following her.  "I'm sorry you've got to go, and… if, by some chance, I haven't completely offended you, and you want to stop by again sometime, I promise I'll wear real clothes."

Spun abruptly to him, her eyes wide.  "A kilt is a real article of clothing, Dreamy, and I expect to see you wearing it again."  

"Oh."  He blinked a couple of times, slouching with relief.  He'd flustered her, but nothing irreparable.  

"Besides, how many ladies have been treated to the rare and glorious Assgreste full moon?"  With that parting shot, she bounded out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's routine looks a lot like [ this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1KUomqrfek&list=PLshVjJ98LAbrLCTFZLI0AyQSfB8QXHiei&index=10).


	4. A Revealing Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His smile was so bright it could have served as a spotlight. "Is that your plan, My Lady? Surrounding yourself with gorgeous blonds who make you laugh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Seasonofthegeek for inspiring...whatever this is. If you haven't read her stuff, do yourself a favor and rectify that situation post-haste.

Ladybug paced along the ledge of Notre Dame waiting for her partner to show up.  After last night's festival of eye candy she needed a hard run through Paris, and their usual game of tag would give her exactly what she needed.  

"Good evening, my Lady!" Chat called as he bounded into sight.  He landed smoothly near by.

"Hey Chaton."  She smiled at him, infected by his happiness.  "You're in a good mood."

"It's just a much better day than yesterday," he said.  "Speaking of which…"  He beamed, looking mischievous.

"No," she said firmly, hoping to stop him.

"How did it go, transporting the underdressed model home?" he asked, as  if it were of no more interest than the weather.  He was totally faking.

"Oh…"  She needed to defuse his focus on this.  "It was good."  Awkward, nerve wracking, and utterly blush-worthy counted as good, right?

"Just good?" he asked, shaking his head.  "Simple drop off, then?  He didn't offer up any kind of appreciation for the save?"  He huffed.  "I think I'm offended on your behalf."

"Oh no," she corrected quickly.  "That's not it at all.  I mean… he seemed really appreciative.  We played Dance Dance Revolution.  It was nice." It really had been, even with the unexpected bits.

"Did he end up putting on clothes, or did you get to admire him in all his glory?"

She shot Chat a glare.  "Why do you care?"

Chat shrugged.  "I have a vested interest in you being happy, and while the circumstances may be unusual, you seem to really like this guy."

She sighed.  Stupid accepting cat.  "He's nice.  Actually nice, not one of those fake nice guys who feel the need to point out just how nice they are all the time, because it's not obvious."  She clarified.  "Honestly, I think you two would get along really well.  His sense of humor reminded me of you."

His smile was so bright it could have served as a spotlight.  "Is that your plan, My Lady?  Surrounding yourself with gorgeous blonds who make you laugh."

She giggled.  "Yes.  That must be it."  She pushed herself to her feet.  "You up for a game of tag?"

His smile turned into a smirk.  "Need to run off a bit of energy, do you?"  He hopped to his feet just in time to miss a swat.  As he strolled along the ledge, Ladybug's attention was caught by his gait.

"Are you a model, Chat?" she asked, her voice serious.  Normally she avoided too much personal life talk, at least of the type that could accidentally reveal one of them.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, surprise clear on his handsome face.  "What makes you ask that?"

She hesitated, trying to answer that question for herself.  "You walk like one… a little."  A lot, actually.  She'd noticed his smooth rolling movement before, but it seemed so much more evident after Adrien's brief demonstration in his kilt last night.

"Do I?"  He turned away and walked a few more paces.  It was more sassy Chat than sweet Adrien, but the muscles from shoulder to glute tightened and relaxed in a cascade that was entirely too familiar.  He turned and winked at her.  "Come catch me, Bugnette."  In a move that wasn't at all telegraphed, he dropped off the side of the building, darting away from her.

Their game of tag had taken them all over the city, and had done wonders for wearing her out.  It wasn't until she was detranformed and back in her room that she realized he'd never answered her question.

* * *

Another late evening akuma had cropped up, this one triggered directly by the heat rather than the short tempers that went along with it.  Chat had arrived with dripping wet hair, and she couldn't help but notice how tired he was from the get go.

Despite the disadvantages, they were able to wrap up relatively quickly.

"You sure you're okay, Chaton?" she asked, foregoing their usual fist bump to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah."  He let out a groan.  "But I sure could use a break in my personal life if Hawkmoth is going to insist on frequent evening attacks."  He ran a hand over his head.  "And I'm gonna need another shower."

"You going to be able to get home all right?"  She pointed to his ring, down to three pads.

He nodded.  "Yep.  While I appreciate the concern, there's no need to fret, Milady."  He shrugged.  "And if it gets close, I have a spot to recharge along the way."

"Great.  I'll see you tomorrow."  She waved and threw her yo-yo out to dash home.  She had a pretty strong suspicion her balcony was his emergency recharging spot.  Chat had been casually visiting her as Marinette for months.  At first she'd been terrified he'd figured her out.  But it quickly became clear that her Chaton just needed a friend and a place to hang out that wasn't his home.  Home sounded like it was not a particularly pleasant place.  So instead of discouraging him, she'd welcomed him.  He  **was** her best friend, even if he didn't know it.

She detransformed and dropped through her skylight, hopping off her bed to get Tikki settled quickly, just in case.  She tugged at her sports bra, half adhered with sweat, and grimaced.  She really needed a shower, and if Chat didn't stop by in the next fifteen minutes, she'd give up waiting.

A light tap at her skylight told her that her instincts had be correct.

"That you, Chat?" she called walking over to look up through the plexiglass.  She smiled and waved.  "You want to come in?"

"Is it as hot in there as I suspect?" he asked.  "I mean, you have a pallet out here all set up for sleeping, and all."

"Good point."  She was fully planning on having a shower and then sleeping on the balcony.  "You need a snack?"

"Yeah, actually."  His voice was soft, apologetic.  "Cheese if you have it.  I'm about to detransform."

She quietly raided the family kitchen, heading upstairs with a bundle of snacks for both Chat and his kwami, as well as water for him and her.  The ladder was awkward, but she managed not to drop anything.  When she got there, she was surprised to find a large Chat-shaped lump covered by her light pink sheet.  A tiny black cat was perched on the top, possibly guarding his charge.

"Oh," she said.  "Who are you?"  She inched closer.

"That's Plagg," the Chat-shaped lump explained.  "He's the one who gives me my powers."  Plagg raised one paw and waved.  "He needs the cheese."

"Oh, okay."  She settled on the floor beside them.  "Hey there, Plagg," she said gently.  "I wasn't sure what Chat meant by cheese, so I got you a piece of cheese bread, a cheese danish, and a little block of swiss that we had around."  She untied the tea towel she'd used to carry the snacks.  "Will any of these work?"

"Hey kid, I changed my mind," Plagg said, his voice gruff and slightly nasal.

"Yeah?" Chat asked.

"Definitely keep this girl," Plagg suggested.  "But be sure to bring me treats when you stop by for a visit."

Marinette giggled.  "Thank you for that vote of confidence, Plagg," she said.  "I'll be sure to send him home with treats in the future, now that I know what you like."  She laid out the towel, and Plagg drifted down before she could hand him his snacks.  She reached out and touched what she thought might be Chat's shoulder.  "I brought you snacks, too."

"You really didn't have to, Princess," he said.  The weariness present during the battle was evident in his voice.

"There was an akuma, and you're tired," she replied.  "You need to recharge too, Kitty."

"Listen to the girl, kid."  Plagg shot Marinette a wink.  "I get the feeling she knows what she's talking about here."

Marinette swallowed hard.  Plagg  **definitely** knew she was Ladybug.  But he was a kwami, so it was safe, right?

The lump under the sheet writhed a bit, and a lightly tanned pale hand crept out in her direction.  "All right.  What did you bring me, Princess?"

"It's chocolate bread with dark chocolate chunks and crystalized ginger."  She slipped the mini boule into his hand.  "The ginger should pep you up a bit."

He grasped the little bread and slowly sat up, careful to keep covered.  "Thanks.  You're really ameowzing, you know that."

She giggled.  "Thanks, Kitty."  She watched as Plagg worked through his snack, much faster than Tikki would have.  She realized she was staring, and glanced away.

"Uh, I apologize if Plagg's a pig," Chat said, breaking the silence.

Marinette shook her head, then realized he couldn't see through the sheet.  "Oh… it's okay.  I'm just a little…"  The little black kwami chose that moment to shove an entire danish in his mouth.  "Oh my god Plagg!  Don't choke!"  She reached for the kwami, terrified on his behalf.

Chat laughed.  "It's kind of appalling how fast he can eat."

"It's nice in a time crunch," Plagg said.  "Can't leave our bug without her shield."

"You are  **not** Ladybug's shield," Marinette said firmly, scowling a little at Plagg.  "You're her  **partner** ."

Plagg smirked at her.

"Well…" Chat mumbled.  "We  **are** her partner, but… sometimes it's necessary to buy her time or keep her safe, and that's our job."

Marinette frowned.  Stupid self sacrificing cat.  "Who keeps  **you** safe?" she asked.

"Oh," Chat sounded surprised.  "Well Plagg  **is** a powerful being.  And Ladybug's cure always fixes everything."  He turned a bit under the sheet.  "And you've been helping a lot lately."

"I don't like it when you get hurt," she muttered crossly.  "Here, I brought you some water."  She held up the bottle and sloshed the contents.

Chat groaned happily.  "You are my most favorite person ever."  He twisted some more to reach for the bottle.

"You're getting mighty tangled in my sheets there, Chat," she pointed out, grinning wryly.  "Are you nesting?"

He laughed.  "Nooooo.  But your sheets do smell nice."

"You scent marking her bed, kid?" Plagg asked.

"Plagg!"  Chat sounded horrified.  "You know why I'm under here.  Knock it off."

"You're detransformed," Marinette said, wondering if there was more to this situation that she didn't know.  "Is there something else going on?"

Plagg flopped onto the tea towel cackling happily.  "So much more."

"Gee thanks Plagg," Chat said drily.  "It's not like I haven't humiliated myself enough this week.  Now you had to go and make this weird."

"You know I have to ask what's going on, now, right?" Marinette said.  "You are allowed to decline to answer."

Chat's sigh was audible.  "I was in the shower when the akuma alert came in."  

Ah.  That explained the wet hair.  Oh.  Wait.  "Did you have time to dress?" she asked.

"Nope!" Plagg blurted out.  "You've got a completely skinned cat under there."

What was it with her and naked boys all of a sudden?  First Adrien, now Chat.  And he sounded distinctly less pleased than Adrien had been.  "It's okay, Chat.  It's not weird."  Okay.  That was a lie.  "Well, not too weird.  And… I bet it's really pleasant to be in nothing but light cotton in this heat."

After a long moment of silence, he replied, "Yeah."

"I have some of those gooey caramel brownies you like," she said, trying to squelch the awkward.  "Want one?"

"Yes."  He thrashed a bit.  "Ugh.  Just... let me... get…"  He twisted the other direction a couple of times.  In the process, some of the sheet came loose, providing Marinette a perfect glimpse of naked Chat from the shoulders down.

"Adrien?!"  She gawked at him, one hand pointing at him.

"What?"  He stiffened, hands frantically tugging the sheet back over his glorious backside.  "Uh… who?"

"Adrien Agreste," she said firmly.  While it was not at all what she expected, it somehow still fit.  There was none of the weirdness she expected to feel upon discovering the identity of her partner.  "You're Chat Noir?"  She glanced down at Plagg, who was rolling around giggling, which did nothing to discourage her claim.

The writhing pink sheet went still.  "Sorry Mari."  He sighed and pulled down the sheet covering his face to look at her.  "What gave me away?"

She snorted.  "You have a very lovely and distinctive Assgreste."

His lips twitched to the side as he tried not to laugh.  "That's… surprisingly nice to hear, especially coming from you."  He shook his head.  "But it's not like you've seen me naked before."

She raised one eyebrow a bit.  "Now that the totally hot cat is out of the form fitting bag," Marinette said.  "We are going out to dinner tomorrow.  And you're wearing that kilt."

"Wait how did you know I have a…"  He trailed off, his eyes going wide as his brain finally caught up.  "Oh."  He covered his mouth and gaped at her.

She grinned at him.  "Who knew my Dreamy Kitty was such a tease?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I apologize for any typos. I had to type most of this on a qwerty keyboard, and that's not my norm.
> 
> Second, thanks to everyone who enjoyed this along with me. If you feel like interacting with me more than you can on AO3, you can find me over on [Tumblr >.](http://freedom-shamrock.tumblr.com/)


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